Bab 639
Kishiar tidak kekurang-anadaan mengenai apa yang dimaksud dengan berada dalam situasi serupa dengan Yuder. Sementara tatapannya berganti cepat, Yuder tak kunjung memberhentikan lancarnya bicaranya.
"Sejujurnya, aku hanya terkejut karena subjeknya adalah Sang Kaisar Pertama. Enon sudah lama menduga ada seseorang sepertiku di masa lalu. Jika isi yang tersembunyi di dalam jurnal itu benar, maka spekulasi itu akhirnya terbukti."
"Jika ia selama ini berpikir demikian, apakah ada dasar spekulasi?"
Yuder ragu sejenak, ingin mengungkapkan lebih jauh atau tidak, namun pertimbangannya singkat.
Ia sudah tahu dari sangkutannya sendiri bahwa Enon tak sekadar manusia biasa. Untuk menjelaskan situasi ini, ia merasa perlu menegaskan sebelumnya pengetahuan Enon tentang Archmage Luma.
"Enon tahu hal-hal tentang Archmage Luma yang tidak diketahui orang lain. Menurutnya, Luma diam-diam melakukan penelitian tertentu sebelum meninggalkan Kekaisaran."
"Persis seperti Cadu Pertamanya yang juga muridnya."
"Benar."
Kishiar tidak bertanya mengapa Enon tahu begitu banyak tentang Luma. Ia hanya tertarik pada inti dari pernyataan Yuder.
"Penelitian itu tentang apa sebenarnya? Apakah serupa dengan tema yang diteliti oleh Duke?"
"Tidak, apa yang ia kembangkan adalah..."
Yuder bercerak-muka, menatap ke kegelapan yang mereka hadapi.
"...sebuah cara untuk membalikkan alur waktu."
Itu adalah hal yang belum pernah terjadi, namun ia adalah sesuatu yang pernah dialami langsung oleh Yuder Aile.
Yuder teringat kata-kata Enon setelah mengetahui rahasianya.
Archmage Luma sudah lama diam-diam meneliti sihir untuk membalikkan waktu. Meskipun ia seorang penyihir yang tangguh yang menciptakan makhluk seperti Enon, ia gagal mencapai hasilnya dan akhirnya meninggalkan Kekaisaran.
Enon menduga bahwa Luma mungkin memulai penelitian aneh ini setelah bertemu seseorang seperti Yuder yang kembali dari masa depan. Akhirnya, di halaman terakhir tersembunyi jurnal penelitian Cadu Pertama Tain, ia menemukan sesuatu yang mendukung teori ini.
'Jika segala sesuatu yang ditulis di sini didasarkan pada fakta, maka subjek mungkin adalah Kaisar Pertama dari negeri ini.'
Ia tidak bisa yakin, namun sepertinya hal terpenting adalah bahwa baik Cadu Pertama Tain maupun Luma percaya padanya.
Penyihir legendaris dan muridnya, seorang Adipati yang berasal dari Kaisar Pertama, cukup cerdas dan unik untuk meyakini cerita seperti itu. Apa yang bisa terjadi untuk membuat mereka percaya pada kisah seperti ini?
Waktu ketika keduanya mulai melakukan penelitian rahasia dan aneh mereka bertepatan dengan kemangkatan Kaisar Pertama. Salah satu ingin mengendalikan alur waktu, meneliti asal-usul monster, sementara yang lain berupaya menciptakan sihir yang bisa langsung membalikkan waktu.
Meskipun pendekatannya berbeda, keduanya terhubung oleh penelitian tentang waktu.
Bisakah Kaisar Pertama dari Kekaisaran ini, seperti Yuder, adalah seseorang yang kembali dengan membalikkan waktu?
"Untuk merangkumnya... baik Archmage Luma maupun Cadu Pertama Tain melakukan penelitian rahasia yang berkaitan dengan waktu, mungkin karena Sang Kaisar Pertama yang mendirikan Kekaisaran ini. Jika memang benar ia adalah makhluk seperti kamu, maka cukup mengejutkan, segalanya masuk akal."
"Benar."
Kishiar, yang tidak tersenyum seperti biasanya, terlihat menggulung-ngulung otaknya dalam diam yang panjang, menandakan ia tidak meremehkan situasi ini.
Setelah kawali waktu berlalu, ia pun berkata lagi.
"Meskipun kamu mungkin sudah tahu, catatan dari masa itulah sangat langka," percakapnya dimulai dengan sedikit rasa pahit. "Dipraktikkan dengan benar untuk menghancurkan barang-barang yang ditinggalkan oleh orang yang telah meninggal, dan akibat keterbatasan teknologi, bahkan kertas yang layak pun langka. Hal ini mendorong para pendeta untuk dengan tekun mengonumsi kitab suci Dewa Matahari agar tidak hilang, menggabungkan tradisi lisan dengan sedikit dokumen yang masih tersisa."
Kebanyakan catatan yang tersisa adalah rekonstruksi dari generasi belakangan, yang menggabungkan cerita lisan dengan bukti sejarah yang sedikit. Kishiar tertawa sebentar dengan sedikit sindiran.
"Bahkan artefak dari masa itu yang disimpan di istana kekaisaran kadang-kadang diragukan keasliannya, jadi tidak perlu penjelasan tambahan, aku rasa."
Yuder tak berkata apa-apa, hanya menggulung-ngulung pikirannya.
"Namun, belakangan ini, cukup kebetulan, aku sempat bisa mendalami beberapa catatan dari masa itu."
Setelah bermimpi tentang kematian Yuder, Kishiar meminjam banyak naskhah terlarang. Di antaranya adalah hari-hari dan catatan yang ditulis oleh Permaisuri dan para penginap istana pada masa Kaisar Pertama.
"Tapi mungkin tidak ada tentang sebab kematian Kaisar Pertama atau tentang membalikkan waktu. Jika ada, pasti sudah diketahui lama-lama itu."
Sementara Yuder merenungkannya, Kishiar lanjut lembut.
"Pada masa itu, aku tidak mempertimbangkan untuk menyelidiki hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan Kaisar Pertama, hanya fokus pada hal-hal yang sepertinya relevan bagiku. Tapi aku akan meninjinya lagi saat kembali. Mungkin ada sesuatu yang tersembunyi yang belum ditemukan."
"Baiklah," jawab Yuder.
"Untuk sekarang, mari kita mulai dengan memeriksa jejak-jejak Cadu Pertama Tain di sini."
Yuder mengembalikan aliran udara yang ia sebelumnya blokir. Nathan Zuckerman yang telah duduk dengan sengaja menghadap ke belakang, akhirnya membelokkan kepalanya, kekhawatirannya untuk menghindari mendengar sesuatu yang tidak disengaja menunjukkan kepercayaannya.
"Percakapan sudah selesai, Nathan. Ayo pergi."
"Baik."
Mereka melanjutkan perjalanan di sepanjang terowongan berbatu. Saat mereka tiba di cabang pertama, mereka pikir sudah menemukan apa yang dicari. Namun, di ujungnya, mereka hanya menemukan ruang kecil, sebuah gua buntu yang diisi dengan kerangka tulang manusia yang berserakan.
Sitiasi tetap sama seterusnya. Jalan samping bercabang dari terowongan utama, menuju potongan tulang purba yang jelas, setengah terkubur di tumpukan lumpur, dengan serem mengintip.
"Inilah yang diajak bicarakan anak nakal yang mengarahkankita tadi."
Mudah untuk dibayangkan bagaimana seorang tuan dari masa lalu, menggali tanah ini, pasti gemetar saat menemukan hal semacam ini. Masuk akal juga mengapa mereka mengubur kembali dan tak pernah kembali lagi.
Tapi ketiganya sudah berpengalaman cukup untuk tidak takut pada hal-hal seperti ini.
"Gua kubur kolektif zaman dahulu sering mengikuti struktur seperti buatang semut," jelaskan Kishiar dengan semangat yang sama seperti saat memandu di istana.
"Semakin dekat dengan masuk, semakin tua kuburannya, dan seiring bertambahnya jumlah mayat, terowongan yang lebih dalam digali untuk ruang kubur tambahan. Berdasarkan skalanya, mungkin ini berasal sebelum Grand Destruction."
"Aku pikir lebih seperti tempat persembunyian," cetus Yuder.
"Memang, mungkin juga berfungsi sebagai itu," setuju Kishiar dengan santai.
Seribu tahun telah berlalu, namun terowongan ini masih tersimpan dengan strukturnya yang kuat, membuat Kishiar terdiam sesaat.
"Sepertinya sia-sia untuk membangun terowongan yang begitu tahan lama hanya untuk menyimpan mayat. Mereka mungkin juga berfungsi sebagai tempat persembunyian dalam bencana. Memang, di kubur kolektif zaman fondasi dekat ibukota, barang-barang orang yang berlindung dari serangan monster ditemukan."
"Paham," akui Yuder.
"Nah, lihat kamu, apakah aliran sihir semakin kuat?"
"Agak konstan sejak kita masuk ke sini."
"Sebuah jalan baru telah muncul di depan."
Pada saat itu, Nathan Zuckerman yang diam-diam mengikut, menarik perhatian ke sebuah percabangan baru di depan mereka. Berbeda dari sebelumnya, inilbu bukan sekadar jalan samping; ini jauh lebih besar.
Yuder secara tenang mengamati kedua jalannya. Matanya yang bersinar dengan cahaya keemasan merasakan aliran yang lebih kuat di sebelah kanan.
"Sepertinya jalan kanan."
"Ya, batu-batu yang membentuk dindingnya kurang aus di sebelah kanan dibanding kirim, artinya ia diukir lebih baru."
Mereka melanjutkan ke arah kanan, namun apa yang mereka temui di ujungnya justru membuat mereka terkejut.
"...Bukan. Buntu."
"Lihat apa kamu?"
"Sama seperti sebelumnya."
"Maka tak ada alasan untuk tertipu."
Kishiar memutar pergelangannya, secara santai memindai sekitarnya. Gelombang sihir keemasan mengalir dari matanya yang berwarna merah, menandakan niatnya untuk menggunakan sihir sebagai Awakener.
Matanya Yuder merespons sihir Kishiar, semakin bersinar kuat.
"Tempat ini, tidak seperti penjara bawah tanah Tainu, tidak sesuai untuk mekanisme pelindungan yang hanya bisa dibuka oleh keluarga. Jadi pilihan kita cukup jelas. Aku sudah sedikit belajar untuk menghindari kebingungan seperti sebelumnya, bahkan ketika jawaban sedang di depan mata kita."
Dengan senyum, Kishiar mulai mengucapkan mantranya.
Chapter 639
Kishiar was not unaware of what being in a similar situation to Yuder meant. As his gaze rapidly shifted, Yuder continued to speak.
"Frankly, I was surprised only because the subject was His Majesty the First Emperor. Enon had been speculating for some time that there might have been someone like me in the past. If the hidden content in the journal is true, then that speculation is finally proven."
"If he has always thought so, was there some basis for this speculation?"
Yuder hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should reveal more, but his deliberation was brief.
He already knew from Enon himself that Enon was no ordinary human. To explain the situation, he felt the need to preemptively establish Enon's extensive knowledge about the Archmage Luma.
"Enon knows things about the Archmage Luma that others do not. According to him, Luma was secretly conducting some research before leaving the Empire."
"Just like the First Duke Tain, his disciple."
"Yes."
Kishiar did not ask why Enon knew so much about Luma. He was only interested in the core of Yuder's statement.
"What exactly was the research about? Was it on a similar theme to the Duke's?"
"No, what he studied was..."
Yuder murmured, gazing into the darkness unfolding before them.
"...a method to reverse time."
It was an unprecedented feat, yet one that Yuder Aile had personally experienced.
Yuder recalled the words Enon had spoken after discovering his secret.
The Archmage Luma had long secretly studied magic to reverse time. Despite being a formidable mage who created beings like Enon, he failed to achieve results and eventually left the Empire.
Enon speculated that Luma might have started this bizarre research after encountering someone like Yuder who had traveled back in time. Finally, in the hidden last pages of the First Duke Tain's research journal, he found something to support this theory.
'If everything written here is based on fact, then the subject might have been the First Emperor of this nation.'
He couldn't be sure, but the important thing seemed to be that both the First Duke Tain and Luma believed it.
The legendary Archmage and his disciple, a Duke descended from the First Emperor, were intelligent and remarkable enough to believe such a tale. What could have happened to make them believe in such a story?
The time when both began their strange, secretive research coincided with the demise of the First Emperor. One sought to control the flow of time, researching the origins of monsters, while the other endeavored to create magic that could directly reverse time.
Though their approaches differed, both were linked by their research on time.
Could it be that the First Emperor of the empire, like Yuder, was someone who had returned by reversing time?
"To sum up... both the Archmage Luma and the First Duke Tain conducted secret research related to time, possibly because of the First Emperor who founded this Empire. If he was indeed a being like you, then surprisingly, everything makes sense."
"Yes."
Kishiar, not smiling as usual, seemed to weigh his thoughts in a long silence, indicating he did not take the situation lightly.
As time passed, he finally spoke again.
"Though you might already know, records from that era are scarce," began Kishiar, with a hint of bitterness. "It was believed right to destroy the belongings of the deceased, and due to the limitations of technology, even proper paper was scarce. This led to the priests rigorously memorizing the scriptures of the Sun God to prevent loss, combining oral tradition with the little documentation that survived."
Most of the records that remained were reconstructions by later generations, mixing oral tales with scant historical evidence. Kishiar let out a brief, sardonic laugh.
"Even the artifacts from that time stored in the imperial palace are sometimes doubted for their authenticity, so no further explanation is necessary, I believe."
Yuder remained silent, contemplating.
"However, recently, quite coincidentally, I had the chance to delve into the few records of that era."
Following a dream about Yuder's death, Kishiar had borrowed numerous forbidden texts. Among them were diaries and records written by the Empress and court ladies during the time of the First Emperor.
'But there probably was nothing about the cause of the First Emperor's death or about reversing time. Otherwise, it would have been known long ago.'
While Yuder pondered this, Kishiar continued softly.
"Back then, I didn't consider looking into matters related to the First Emperor, focusing only on what seemed relevant to me. But I will revisit them once I return. There might be something hidden yet undiscovered."
"Understood," Yuder replied.
"For now, let's start by examining the traces of the First Duke Tain here."
Yuder restored the flow of air he had previously blocked. Nathan Zuckerman, who had been standing deliberately turned away, finally turned his head, his cautiousness to avoid overhearing anything inadvertently speaking of his trustworthiness.
"The conversation is over, Nathan. Let's go."
"Understood."
They continued along the stone-lined tunnel. When they reached the first branching path, they thought they had found what they were looking for. However, at its end, they found only a small chamber, a dead-end cave filled with scattered human bones.
The situation remained similar thereafter. Side paths branched off from the main tunnel, leading to what were clearly ancient bone fragments, half-buried in mounds of dirt, eerily peeking out.
'This must be what the child who guided us earlier was talking about.'
It was easy to imagine how a lord from a bygone era, digging into this land, must have shuddered at such a discovery. It made sense why they would reburied it and never looked back.
But the three present were too seasoned and experienced to be frightened by such things.
"Ancient communal graveyards often follow this ant-hill-like structure," Kishiar explained, with the same bright demeanor he had when guiding through the palace.
"The closer to the entrance, the older the graves, and as the number of the dead increased, deeper tunnels were dug for additional burial chambers. Judging by the scale, this might have originated before the Great Destruction."
"I thought it was more like a shelter," Yuder remarked.
"Indeed, it might have served that purpose too," Kishiar agreed nonchalantly.
A millennium had passed, yet the tunnel retained its formidable structure, prompting Kishiar to muse aloud. "It seems a waste to construct such durable tunnels solely for the purpose of storing corpses. They might have also served as shelters during disasters. In fact, in the communal graveyards from the founding era near the capital, artifacts of people who took refuge from monster invasions have been found."
"I see," Yuder acknowledged.
"By the way, what do you see? Is the flow of magic getting stronger?"
"Well, it's been fairly constant since we entered here."
"A new fork in the path has appeared ahead."
At that moment, Nathan Zuckerman, who had been silently following, brought attention to a new fork in their path. Unlike the previous paths, this one was not a mere offshoot; it was significantly larger.
Yuder calmly observed the two paths. His eyes, shining with a golden hue, sensed a stronger flow to the right.
"It seems to be the right path."
"Yes, the stones forming the wall are less worn on the right than the left, meaning it was excavated more recently."
They proceeded to the right, but what they encountered at the end defied their expectations.
"...It's a dead end."
"What do you see?"
"The same as before."
"Then, there's no reason to be deceived."
Kishiar rotated his wrist, casually scanning the surroundings. A surge of golden magic flowed from his red eyes, signaling his intention to use magic as an Awakener.
Yuder's eyes responded to Kishiar's magic, shining even more intensely.
"This place, unlike the Tainu's underground prison, is not an appropriate location for a protection mechanism that can only be opened by blood relatives. So, our options are quite straightforward. I've studied a bit to avoid the frustration of missing the way like before, even when it's right in front of us."
With a smile, Kishiar began to cast his spell.
[BL] Bermuda
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
[BL] Cloudless Sky
Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
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